North East Business Support Fund
| Funding Organisation | MHCLG / DLUHC (European Regional Development Fund) |
| Timescales | February 2018 to June 2023 (programme extended March 2021) |
| Type of Business Support | Grants for Business Growth and Innovation Projects and Fully Funded Masterclasses for SMEs in Northumberland, Tyne & Wear and County Durham. |
| Services Provided | Programme Design, Compliance Framework, Online Application, Programme Website, 1:1 Advisor support, Grant management. |
The Grant offer is designed to de-risk SME investment in Business Growth and Innovation by providing up to 40% funding for Projects costing between £2.5k and £8k. A wide range of projects are supported including process improvement consultancy, marketing strategy development, software design and digitisation consultancy.
The Masterclass programme offers fully funded online development sessions with subject matter experts. Topics include digital strategy, social media tactics, negotiation skills, time management and perfecting a sales pitch
The programme is still in delivery but is expected to deliver:
- Businesses supported with a Grant – 1,350
- Businesses supported with non-financial support (Masterclass support) – 200
- Value of Grants paid – £2.7m
- Value of Private Sector Leverage – £4.7m
- Jobs Created as a result of the support provided - 675
North of Tyne Innovation Recovery Grant
| Funding Organisation | North of Tyne Combined Authority |
| Timescales | June 2021 to June 2023 |
| Type of Business Support | Grants for Innovation Projects (consultancy and equipment purchases) for organisations based in Northumberland, Newcastle or North Tyneside. Working in partnership with Innovation SuperNetwork. |
| Services Provided | Programme Design, Compliance Framework, Downloadable Application, Programme Website, 1:1 Advisor support, Grant management, Marketing. |
The Grant offer is designed to de-risk investment in Innovation by providing 50% funding for Projects costing between £10k and £20k. A wide range of new-to-business and new-to-market projects are supported including product development support, process improvement consultancy, market launch strategy development, software design and digitisation consultancy as well as the purchase of production machinery, software and digital tools.
The programme is still in delivery but is on track to deliver:
- Businesses supported with a Grant – 280
- Value of Grants paid – £2.1m
- Value of Private Sector Leverage – £2.1m
- Jobs Created as a result of the support provided - 140
- Jobs Safeguarded as a result of the support provided - over 280
Covid Response Fund
| Funding Organisation | MHCLG / DLUHC (European Regional Development Fund) |
| Timescales | Sept 2020 to March 2021 |
| Type of Business Support | Grants for Business Growth and Innovation Projects (consultancy and equipment purchases) for SMEs Northumberland, Tyne & Wear and County Durham. |
| Services Provided | Programme Design, Compliance Framework, Online Application, Programme Website, 1:1 Adviser support, Grant management. |
Delivered on behalf of the North East Local Enterprise Partnership, NBSL’s North East Business Support Fund programme was varied for the Government’s North East allocation of funding to provide a quick-to-market response to the Covid pandemic to support businesses.
The Project targeted SMEs with an element ring-fenced to support the Tourism sector 100% Grants were offered for eligible projects costing between £1k and £3k
The programme delivered:
- Businesses supported with a Grant – 600
- Value of Grants paid – £1,640,000
- Jobs Created as a result of the support provided - 150
Enterprise Support in the North East
| Funding Organisation | MHCLG / DLUHC (European Regional Development Fund) – NEEAL is lead applicant; NBSL is the named Delivery Partner for Northumberland area |
| Timescales | July 2018 to June 2023 (programme extended July 2021) |
| Type of Business Support | 1:1 Business advice and business skills workshops to support individuals to become self-employed / start their own business. |
| Services Provided | Programme Design, Compliance Framework, Gateway Phone Service, Online Workshop Application, Programme Website. Advisory, Coaching and Training services. |
Offering a universally accessible package of support to individuals resident within the North East LEP area, with ambitions to start a business or a social enterprise. Activity is delivered through a partnership of nine locally-based Delivery Partners working within specific geographies across the entire North East LEP area, providing a combination of one-to-one and one-to-many support interventions to raise awareness of enterprise and to enable individuals to become enterprise ready.
The programme is still in delivery but to date the full Project is on target to achieve outputs and impacts:
- 2.1k potential entrepreneurs assisted to be enterprise ready
- 20% (420) commencing trading
- 420 related jobs created
Better Business Skills & To NetZero
| Funding Organisation | NTCA Devolved Adult Education Budget (AEB) |
| Timescales | August 2021 to July 2023 |
| Type of Business Support | Business Skills training and To NetZero workshops for residents of the NTCA region, employed in or owning a small or micro business or individuals looking to start a business. |
| Services Provided | Series of interactive workshops and 1:1 support. |
To deliver a business support programme to residents in the NTCA region who are either in business, looking to start a business or looking to refresh their skills and knowledge through a series of workshops. The programme has developed from 6 workshops in year one through to 14 workshops in year three plus a standalone programme to support business owners/managers better understand how they can adopt the To Net Zero agenda and save costs.
Both programmes are delivered online.
Business Skills topics include; Finance, sales, branding, pitching, team leading, lean management, managing risk, ROI on social media.
The To Net Zero programme is focused on understanding the basic themes of the NetZero agenda, being able to define risks and opportunities, identifying related commercial opportunities for organisations and developing bespoke action plans for those organisations.
The programme is still in delivery but is on track to deliver support to over 300 residents and 150 businesses.
1-2-1 Technical Specialist Support
| Funding Organisation | Advance Northumberland / Northumberland County Council |
| Timescales | December 2019 to June 2023 |
| Type of Business Support | 1-2-1 support for organisations in the North of the Tyne (NTCA) who are seeking access to finance, looking to attract new investment, build business resilience and develop growth plans. |
| Services Provided | Including: Business Planning, sales and marketing plans, financial forecasting business resilience planning, grant application support, Covid response support, HR support. |
NBSL manages a register of Specialist consultants and advisers who cover a wide range of disciplines and sectors to support clients become more resilient and grow. For this contract we manage a selected pool of Technical Advisors to provide provision of 1-2-1 flexible, specialist advice to eligible businesses identified by Advance’s Rural Growth Advisors and accepted onto their Rural Business Growth Service (RBGS) 2019-23 Programme.
Areas of specialist knowledge includes:
- Cashflow and financial forecasting
- Taxation and exemptions
- International trading – practices and law
- Market opportunities and demand
- Supply chain efficiencies and requirements
- State Aid guidance
- Procurement advice
- Sales strategies and work winning
- Funding requirements
The programme is still in delivery but is on track to deliver support to over 340 organisations.
